# Joey Villaseñor

Joey Simon Villaseñor (born October 17, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1999 until 2012, Villasenor competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, EliteXC, King of the Cage, DEEP, Shark Fights, BAMMA, and the World Fighting Alliance. Villasenor is the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion, and defended this title seven times before vacating it to sign with PRIDE.

## Background

Villasenor was born in East Los Angeles and lived there for the first nine years of his life before moving to New Mexico in 1984. He graduated from Farmington High School but also attended West Mesa High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Villasenor was athletic and in high school he played baseball, football, and participated in track and field. Villasenor first began watching UFC events when he was 17 or 18 years old, but thought that the fighting was brutal, although he wanted to learn self-defense. He began competing in martial arts when he was 19 years old, training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing. He was a four-time Amateur Regional Boxing Champion with a 16–0 record, and 15 wins by KO.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Villaseñor made his professional debut in April 1999 and after 15 consecutive wins, he was signed by the PRIDE Fighting Championships.

### PRIDE

Villasenor made his PRIDE debut on June 4, 2006, against Japanese veteran, Ryo Chonan. Despite losing a decision, Villaseñor was brought back by the organization to fight UFC veteran Robbie Lawler at PRIDE 32. He lost via knockout only 22 seconds into the first round due to a flying knee.

### EliteXC

Villasenor then signed with EliteXC. He defeated former UFC veteran David Loiseau in EliteXC's inaugural event, and lost to Murilo Rua at the EliteXC co-promotion Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni, and rebounded with a win over Riki Fukuda at EliteXC: Uprising. Villasenor scored an impressive knockout over Ryan Jensen at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le. On May, 31st, at EliteXC's Saturday Night Fights, Villaseñor won his bout against Phil Baroni. This bout can potentially be the elimination match for the EliteXC Middleweight Championship. It was recently announced that Villaseñor would receive a title shot in a rematch against Robbie Lawler on the scheduled November 8, 2008, EliteXC show. However ProElite canceled the show shortly after due to large amounts of debt.

### Strikeforce

After the demise of EliteXC, Villasenor was signed by Strikeforce and defeated Evangelista Santos at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg via split decision.
Villaseñor faced Ronaldo Souza on May 15, 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. He lost the fight via decision.
On December 9, 2010, Villaseñor was released from Strikeforce, along with Joe Riggs.

### Shark Fights

Villaseñor was expected to face Drew McFedries on September 11, 2010, at Shark Fights 13 but McFedries was forced off the card with an injury. He instead faced Danillo Villefort and lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Villaseñor next faced Chris Camozzi at Shark Fights 15. The fight was initially ruled a draw, but was subsequently overturned and counted as a win for Camozzi by the New Mexico Athletic Commission when it was revealed one of the judges scores was added incorrectly.

### BAMMA

Villaseñor made his BAMMA debut against fighter Jim Wallhead at BAMMA 8. He lost the fight via KO in the first round.

## Championships and Accomplishments

* King of the Cage
** KOTC Middleweight Championship (One time)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 39 matches | 29 wins | 10 losses |
| By knockout | 18 | 5 |
| By submission | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 6 | 4 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 29–10 | Donnie Liles | Decision (unanimous) | Jackson's MMA Series 8 | June 2, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | |
| Loss | 28–10 | Jim Wallhead | KO (punches) | BAMMA 8: Manuwa vs. Rea | December 10, 2011 | 1 | 0:48 | Nottingham, England | |
| Win | 28–9 | Chuck Parmelee | TKO (punches) | Jackson's MMA Series 6 | October 22, 2011 | 1 | 2:47 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Welterweight debut. |
| Loss | 27–9 | Chris Camozzi | Decision (split) | Shark Fights 15: Villaseñor vs Camozzi | May 27, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | Originally split draw, result later overturned. |
| Loss | 27–8 | Danillo Villefort | Decision (unanimous) | Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs Prangley | September 11, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Amarillo, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 27–7 | Ronaldo Souza | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery | May 15, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 27–6 | Evangelista Santos | Decision (split) | Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg | June 19, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Kent, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 26–6 | Phil Baroni | TKO (punches) | EliteXC: Primetime | May 31, 2008 | 1 | 1:11 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 25–6 | Ryan Jensen | KO (punch) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le | March 29, 2008 | 1 | 4:45 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Win | 24–6 | Riki Fukuda | Decision (split) | EliteXC: Uprising | September 15, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 23–6 | Murilo Rua | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni | June 22, 2007 | 2 | 1:05 | San Jose, California, United States | For the EliteXC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 23–5 | David Loiseau | Decision (unanimous) | EliteXC: Destiny | February 10, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Southaven, Mississippi, United States | |
| Loss | 22–5 | Robbie Lawler | KO (flying knee) | PRIDE 32 | October 21, 2006 | 1 | 0:22 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 22–4 | John Cronk | TKO | KOTC: Civil War | July 29, 2006 | 1 | 4:04 | Towaoc, Colorado, United States | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Loss | 21–4 | Ryo Chonan | Decision (split) | PRIDE: Bushido 11 | June 4, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Opening Round |
| Win | 21–3 | Yuya Shirai | Decision (unanimous) | DEEP: 24 Impact | April 11, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 20–3 | Kyacey Uscola | TKO (doctor stoppage) | KOTC: Anarchy | February 11, 2006 | 2 | 4:14 | Prince George, British Columbia, Canada | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 19–3 | Jorge Santiago | Decision (unanimous) | KOTC 58: Prime Time | August 5, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | San Jacinto, California, United States | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 18–3 | Damien Riccio | KO (punches) | KOTC: Warzone | June 24, 2005 | 1 | 1:55 | Sheffield, England | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 17–3 | Michael Gonzalez | Submission (choke) | KOTC 55: Grudge Match | June 17, 2005 | 1 | 1:05 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–3 | Brendan Seguin | TKO (stoppage) | KOTC 48: Payback | February 25, 2005 | 1 | 2:10 | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–3 | Jorge Ortiz | TKO (submission to strikes) | KOTC: Hostile Takeover | December 4, 2004 | 1 | 3:19 | Acoma, New Mexico, United States | Defended the KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–3 | Brian Foster | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KOTC 41: Relentless | September 29, 2004 | 1 | 4:25 | San Jacinto, California, United States | Won the vacant KOTC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–3 | Hank Weis | KO (punch) | KOTC: New Mexico | August 28, 2004 | 1 | 0:05 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 | Danny Higgins | TKO (submission to elbows) | XFC 4: Australia vs. The World | March 19, 2004 | 1 | 2:42 | Queensland, Australia | |
| Win | 11–3 | Art Santore | TKO (cut) | KOTC 30: The Pinnacle | November 2, 2003 | 2 | 0:31 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 10–3 | James Fanshier | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KOTC 28: More Punishment | August 16, 2003 | 2 | 2:26 | Reno, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–3 | Joe Merit | TKO | KOTC 24: Mayhem | June 14, 2003 | 1 | 4:06 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | |
| Win | 8–3 | Tony Galindo | TKO (corner stoppage) | KOTC 21: Invasion | February 21, 2003 | 1 | 5:00 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | |
| Win | 7–3 | Lorn Estes | TKO (submission to punches) | KOTC 20: Crossroads | December 15, 2002 | 1 | 1:43 | Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Jermaine Andre | TKO (foot injury) | WFA 2: Level 2 | July 5, 2002 | 1 | 0:21 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Todd Carney | Submission (choke) | KOTC 14: 5150 | June 19, 2002 | 1 | 1:47 | Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States | |
| Win | 5–2 | Tim Credeur | TKO (submission to punches) | KOTC 13: Revolution | May 17, 2002 | 2 | 3:24 | Reno, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Eddy Rolon | TKO (cut) | Warriors Challenge 12 | April 11, 2001 | 1 | 7:30 | Friant, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–2 | Allan Mollring | TKO (punches) | Warriors Challenge 11 | January 13, 2001 | 1 | 3:27 | Fresno, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | David Terrell | Submission (armbar) | Warriors Challenge 9 | July 18, 2000 | 1 | 2:24 | Friant, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Gabriel Duran | Submission (choke) | Warriors Challenge 6 | March 25, 2000 | 1 | 2:31 | Friant, California, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Adam Ryan | KO (punch) | WVF: Casper | October 9, 1999 | 2 | 5:00 | Casper, Wyoming, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Shane Schartzer | TKO (submission to punches) | WVF: Durango | April 17, 1999 | 1 | 1:12 | Durango, Colorado, United States | |